|
||
| Thursday May 1, 2025 |
IN THE NEWS
|
|
As brands reconsidered media budgets in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff plans, insights from EDO reveal changes in TV ad strategy and performance – and some surprising results amid budget cuts. Home appliance brands slashed spend by 30%, for example, yet ad effectiveness jumped by 77%, signaling growing consumer urgency around big-ticket durable goods. Luxury and non-luxury auto brands both pulled back, but only non-luxury saw a positive lift in effectiveness (+3% vs. -9%). Jewelry and watches invested in TV (+59%), but saw a 24% drop in engagement. As of March 2025, streaming TV comprised 43.8% of total TV viewership, according to MediaWatch® Streaming TV Report: The 2025 Upfronts & Newfronts Edition. That beats cable (24.0%) and broadcast (20.5%). Media spend on streaming TV rose from $10.6 billion in 2023 to $12.9 billion in 2024, with spending coming from nearly 14K advertisers (29% more than in 2023), with 293 allocating at least $10 million to streaming in 2024 (+16%), and 29 over $50 million (+18%). While the growth of big advertisers was robust in 2024, two out of every three streaming advertisers in 2024 were new to streaming. |
|
|
Prime Video is now officially shoppable, and is expanding its customer-driven Shop the Show feature, adding over 1,300 new titles. “At Prime Video we’re always looking for ways to invent, simplify and enhance our customers’ experience,” said Michelle Rothman, Vice President, Shopping for Prime Video. “The magic of Shop the Show is its ability to allow customers to shop products related to what they’re watching without impacting their viewing experience.” The US advertising marketplace dipped 2.4% in February but saw a 7.8% gain in March, according to Guideline’s US Ad Tracker. Guideline’s estimate for advance buys for the first two months of the second quarter is 1.8%. |
|
|
The digital economy has surged to $4.9 trillion, supporting 28.4 million jobs nationwide, according to the fifth edition of Interactive Advertising Bureau’s economic research series, Measuring the Digital Economy: Advertising, Content, Commerce and Innovation. The latest findings show the digital economy has more than doubled since 2020. Additional findings include: - The Digital Economy now makes up 18% of U.S. GDP, up from 11% in 2020. - Internet-related jobs are growing 12x faster than the overall labor market. - Digital jobs exist in all 435 congressional districts, not just in tech hubs. - Over 1.5 million Americans now work full-time as digital creators—7.5x growth since 2020. - Nearly 70% of job growth comes from independent creators, e-commerce entrepreneurs, platform earners, and integrated digital firms. “The creator economy has clearly become a major factor in the digital growth story, driving spend, engagement, culture, and of course, employment,” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “The impact is felt across the ecosystem, shifting the way that we think about information, entertainment, commerce, and community. In some ways, it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more that creators succeed, the stronger the platforms they use become.” |
|
 |
|
CYNOPSIS SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS Finalists Announced The wait is over. Our 2025 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards finalists are now officially live! Join us on June 4th at City Winery in NYC for more than just an awards celebration. This is your chance to network with the biggest names in sports media – all in one room. Registration is now open. Secure your spot today and be part of the industry’s most anticipated event of the year. Limited tickets available at each rate. [REGISTER NOW] |
|
|
PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
|
|
“Sh?gun” season two is set to begin production January 2026 in Vancouver. Hiroyuki Sanada returns to star as Lord Yoshii Toranaga and Cosmo Jarvis reprises his role of John Blackthorne. Daniel Ings has joined a cast including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Hattie Hooks for the upcoming thriller series “Kill Jackie”(w/t). Zeta-Jones plays a woman with a dangerous past that’s about to catch up to her. |
|
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
|
|
ABC set summer premiere dates, starting with 10th season of “Bachelor in Paradise” on Monday, July 7 at 8p. “Celebrity Family Feud” has been renewed for season 11 and premieres Thursday, July 10 at 8p, and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” kicks off July 23 at 8p, followed by the revival of “Match Game.” “The Real Housewives of Miami” returns to Bravo on Wednesday, June 11 at 9p. Season seven premieres with a supersized episode featuring returning housewives Guerdy Abraira, Lisa Hochstein, Julia Lemigova, Alexia Nepola and Larsa Pippen, and a newcomer. History Channel’s “Alone” heads to Africa with new season debuting June 12. The survival series has new competitors, a new location and a new set of survival challenges. Sparks fly on and off the air on a sagging morning TV show on the Viaplay Original series “Chaos”, which makes its exclusive debut in the US on the Viaplay streaming servic on Thursday, May 22. “BBQ Brawl: Flay V. Chauhan V. Lofaso” premieres Sunday, June 1 at 9p on Food Network. The crew is back at the Star Hill Ranch in Austin, TX, and Bobby Flay is ready to defend his title against two new captains coming to town to take him down. RFD-TV is expanding its daily news lineup. “RFD-TV is proud to be the top news destination for America’s farmers and ranchers – and we take that role seriously,” said Raquel Gottsch Koehler, Chief Marketing and Creative Officer of Rural Media Group. “By expanding our news offerings, we’re providing even more of the trusted reporting our audience relies on to make critical business decisions every day.” |
|
Today’ Premieres HBO: 100 Foot Wave at 9pm Nat Geo: Genghis Khan: The Secret History of the Mongols at 9p Netflix: Angi: Fake Life, True Crime Max: Dylan’s Playtime Adventure Netflix: The Four Seasons |
|
|
MEDIA IMPACT AWARDS The Recognition That Moves Markets In a crowded vendor landscape, credibility matters. The Media Impact Awards by Cynopsis were built to distinguish the platforms and partners truly shaping the way media is bought, sold, and scaled. Winning signals more than innovation—it tells top media buyers, brands, and decision-makers that you’re a trusted, influential force in the industry. With coverage across Cynopsis and a celebration this October in NYC, your name won’t just be in the mix—it’ll be top of mind. Get recognized. Get chosen. Get ahead. Submit your entry today |
|
|
COMING UP
|
“Dog Man” is making its streaming debut Friday, May 30 on Peacock. The animated film hit theaters on January 31.The second Installment of “The Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Yarn Maker,” starring Candace Cameron Bure, is coming to the screen Thursday, May 22. “We are beyond excited to share the next cozy Ainsley McGregor mystery with our amazing audience of fans and friends. Expect the stakes to be higher, romance to bloom and a clever ending you'd never expect,” said Bure, Chief Creative Officer, Great American Media. FETV celebrates Mother’s Day with a mom-athon of episodes of “Leave it to Beaver,” “Hazel” and “Bewitched” starting at 10a. Not to be outdone, network sib FMC is offering Movies for Mom. |
|
TECH TALK
|
|
Universal Ads, a self-service platform enabling brands of any size to create, buy, and measure ads across the premium video category, announced a new round of companies have joined the platform: Estrella MediaCo, Fuse Media, LG Ad Solutions, Scripps, Spectrum Reach, and Vizio. “With its sight, sound, and emotion, it’s hard to compare to the impactful ad experience of brand-safe video on the big screen. Yet for many e-commerce and digitally native brands, TV advertising has been out of reach without an easy way to buy it,” said Melissa Greenberg, Head of Partnerships and Product Solutions, Universal Ads. “Now, with Universal Ads, these growth companies can connect with their target audiences in a frictionless way, with access to premium content from more than 15 top publishers, and more to come.” Google reported first quarter revenue of $42.3 billion, up 16% year over year and beating analyst estimates of $41.4 billion. It was the company’s second-best quarter ever. “We’ve had a strong start to an important year, our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. “We’re making good progress on AI glasses and Meta AI, which now has almost 1 billion monthly actives.” Google introduced new channel-level reporting in Performance Max, as well as full search terms reporting and more detailed asset reporting. Channel performance reporting helps users understand how Performance Max campaigns are delivering results across Google’s full range of channels and inventory. On the new “Channel performance” page is a campaign-level performance summary along with a new data visualization. “Thanks to your feedback, we’ve continued to improve Performance Max so that you get the visibility you need to understand and continue to drive better results,” said Google in a blog post. The open beta for channel performance reporting will start in a few weeks. The Africa Channel announced the launch of TAC Labs, a new technology unit that will provide low-cost AI-powered solutions to help publishers and content creators open up new markets with affordable dubbing, while providing streamers and other distribution companies cost-effective tools to handle their media operations. The tools offer intelligent ad placement, image curation and manipulation, as well as content abstraction and metadata generation to enhance discoverability, audience engagement and monetization, among other abilities. |
|
RETAIL MEDIA
|
| Albertsons is leaning into shoppable video ads with Criteo. “With the launch of Onsite Video into general availability, we’re giving brands, agencies and retailers the tools to captivate, convert and create meaningful shopping experiences,” said Stephen Howard-Sarin, Managing Director of Retail Media for the Americas at Criteo. |
|
SPORTS UPDATE
|
|
Samsung TV Plus has expanded it live sports lineup, offering access to select local and national games from sports leagues and governing bodies, along with extensive sports coverage. “We’re tearing down the paywalls that have kept fans from the sports they love,” said Salek Brodsky, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Samsung TV Plus. “By teaming up with top leagues and bringing live games and iconic moments to our platform, we’re giving every fan a front-row seat.” The Professional Women’s Hockey League is expanding to Seattle, with the new team set to begin play in the 2025-26 season. The team will play its home games at Climate Pledge Arena and train at the Kraken Community Iceplex. Seattle joins Vancouver as the PWHL’s first two expansion teams alongside the inaugural six markets (Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto). Intersport and FOX Sports announced scheduling plans for the second annual State Farm Women’s College Volleyball Showcase, set to once take place over Labor Day weekend with national broadcast coverage by FOX and FS1. Defending national champion Penn State, Pitt, TCU and Arizona State will converge at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for the four-match event that helps kick off the 2025 college volleyball campaign on August 31 and September 1. Telemundo, Spanish-language home of FIFA through 2026, announced coverage plans and the full match schedule for the FIFA Beach Soccer Seychelles 2025™ kicking off Thursday, May 1 at 6:30a with a dedicated pregame show. All matches air live on Universo. |
|
DISTRIBUTION
|
|
“Married at First Sight” has gone global. Aside from its US success on Lifetime, the 12th season of “” Australia just concluded, Samsung TV Plus is launching a MAFS dedicated FAST channel in Germany, and spinoffs “MAFS: Second Chance” and “MAFS: Last Resort” are hitting global audiences soon. Big Media locked in global sales for documentary “Journey to the UFC: Joe Pyfer,” ahead of Pyfer’s highly anticipated June 7 fight. |
|
RATINGS
|
|
“American Idol’s” first live coast-to-coast telecast earned 5.31 viewers in Live+Same Day ratings, growing over the previous week (+18%) to a season high in the time period and delivering the show’s largest overall audience since its post-Oscars debut. ABC’s “911” hit a five-month high among adults 18-49 with its April 17 episode, which delivered 8.45 million viewers and a 1.74 rating in the demo, according to Nielsen. ESPN platforms are on a record pace for NBA playoffs viewers. With the second weekend of postseason play in the books, ESPN or ABC averaged 4.45 million viewers, up 13% from last year. |
|
|
This Day in History 1840 – Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp, was issued by Great Britain. Answer to Our Last Trivia Question Who played Rabbi Raquel Fine on “Transparent” (2014-19)? Kathryn Hahn. Kudos to: Andrew Goldman-Phanes Funding Group/NYC; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Peter Steckelman-Tennis Channel/Santa Monica, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA: David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA Today’s Trivia Question What does Michael Scott eat for lunch on “The Office” that makes him fall asleep? (Email your answer to trivia@cynopsis.com and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.) |
Cynopsis Team
|
|
View in web browser
This message was sent to hkasoff@daddibrand.com
To ensure delivery to your inbox, add us to your address book.
Cynopsis * Access Intelligence LLC * 9211 Corporate Blvd., 4th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850
Update My Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Contact Us